Draft Anti-Bullying Policy - for Maryfield Students

Aim of the policy:

• to create a greater awareness and understanding of how our behaviour impacts on others.

• to highlight an understanding of positive behaviour in order to promote ways in which  negative / bullying behaviour may be prevented.

• to create a climate of respect and acceptance of each persons individuality, and their right to personal privacy within the school community.

Definition of bullying: 

We deem bullying to be any repeated behaviour that is socially, physically, verbally or emotionally abusive of another’s well-being, dignity and self-esteem.

Such behaviour includes:

• teasing, slagging, jeering or being physically violent with someone.

• excluding someone from group or class,

• picking on a person who looks or sounds different from the group/class,

• spreading rumours about someone (written, spoken, by text or by email),

• taking or damaging the belongings of another person,

• excluding people because they study/work hard - or answer questions in class,

• taking someone else’s homework or someone else’s notes,

• laughing at people who make mistakes,

• pushing or shoving someone in the corridors, cloakroom and toilets.

• writing threatening notes, texts or emails,

• objecting to sitting beside someone,

• continued disruptive behaviour by student or group of students,

• taking someone’s photograph without their knowledge or consent for the purpose of making fun of them,

• any other behaviours that individuals find distressing and that are repeated over a period of time.

When/where this may happen: 

• in classrooms, during class when a student offers a suggestion (that is either correct or is mistaken),

• in the locker room,

• in the classroom before the teacher enters the room,

• in the toilets,

• on the corridors between classes,

• at lunchtime,

• in the bicycle shed,

• walking to or from school,

• at games,

• when getting into work/ team groups,

• in the queue for the canteen,

• on a school bus / public transport coming to or from school anywhere, either at home or in school or at outside school activities using mobile phones or internet chat rooms,

• during non-uniform days,

• during other occasions associated with school activities.

Prevention, and how to become a telling school:

1.      At tutor periods at the beginning of each term, a reminder of school policy and guidelines on anti-bullying strategies are discussed with each class group. We also incorporate this reminder and awareness building at staff level by having the schools anti bullying policy as a standing item on the agenda of the staff meeting at the beginning of each term.

2.     (a)     The school’s anti-bullying policy is printed into the school journals for Students’ reference and is included as part of the copy of school rules which parents sign at the beginning of each year.

(b)    Pupils are encouraged to tell their tutors, another teacher, a supervisor, a prefect or another adult if they themselves or someone they know is being victimised.

3.   Alertness is emphasised by the frequent presence of teachers and supervisors on corridors, locker rooms, toilets, in the canteen and on the lunchtime queue etc. The presence of teachers and supervisors on corridors while students are moving between classes is encouraged.

4.   Class curriculum work that incorporates ‘bullying’ as an issue to be explored and discussed during formal class time is included in subjects such as SPHE, CSPE, RE and English. It is hoped that this  ‘breaking the silence ‘ and including ‘bullying’ as a public issue, which can be spoken of, will help to  prevent a situation where bullying behaviour is thought of  private and/or acceptable.    

5.   Teachers are encouraged to assign students places in their classrooms rather than allow this to happen in an ad hoc fashion.

6.   Teachers are also advised that when doing group work in their classes that the teacher should use some type of selection system rather than allowing the students to select their own groups.

7.   Sixth year prefects are an important avenue for junior students to ‘tell’ if they are distressed in school. Their contact with class groups at lunch time can offer a good opportunity to identify students who are being isolated or who find it difficult to integrate into the class group. This information, feed back to the class tutor, can be a valuable way of preventing difficulties from emerging.

8.   A copy of the school policy on bullying is given to school secretaries, the caretaker, the kitchen and cleaning staff and the school supervisors.

Procedures for dealing with bullying:

Schooling is viewed as a developmental experience - where young people are encouraged to learn relational and social skills as well as the more formal curriculum material that they are time tabled to study during the school day. In this spirit, first complaints about bullying behaviour are handled as important feedback about how others experience a student’s behaviour.

When a complaint has been made, the student identified in the complaint, is informed that a complaint has been made about how another student is experiencing her behaviour. This conversation is handled as ‘information’ and it is made clear to the student involved that what is required is that the behaviour, which the other student finds upsetting, should stop.   Parents of both students involved will be informed of this warning if the situation requires. At this stage no record of ‘bullying’ will be made on a student’s file.  It is hoped that this intervention will alert the student who has been complained, to change her behaviour in the light of information received.

It is also hoped that the student who has complained will be encouraged, by the swift handling of her complaint, to have the confidence to come back to review the situation should the situation not improve.

If the situation does not improve:

If the complaint is made for a second time about a student’s behaviour, it will now be considered as bullying behaviour as it now fulfils the criterion that the behaviour be repeated.

At this stage a more formal investigation will follow:

1. The tutor or the teacher in whom the ‘victim’ confides asks her to write down what happened –who, what, where, when. If more than one ‘victim’ each girl will write separate accounts. With the permission of the ‘victim’ the teacher should always inform the Tutor/Year Head.

2. Class Tutor/ Year Head will meet ‘bullies/bully’ and have them write down, separately, what happened. Do not accept excuses. At this stage the issue has already been identified as distressing and they have already been warned to stop the behaviour.

3. Remind each individual what the school expects and how she has broken school guidelines.

4. If the situation is serious, speak to the school principal and inform the students’ parents.

5. Keep a record of conversations between all parties.

6. If a larger group knows what has been happening, discuss with them how ‘bystanders’ are also responsible for the way they allow students to be treated on their behalf. This issue can be processed in SPHE or CSPE if appropriate.

7. These procedures need not be rigidly followed. The emphasis should be on the ‘writing down’.

Follow-up:

Sanctions appropriate to the level and type of bullying will be administered by the school. In all cases, the record of ‘bullying behaviour’ will be placed on the student’s record.

Positive reinforcement of good behaviour:

General sanctions are impossible to suggest as each individual case is different. Both the ‘bully’ and the person ‘being  bullied’ need help on an ongoing basis, both from the guidance counsellor and from the class tutor or others.  As the need arises and depending on individual issues, pupils may be referred for outside help by the guidance counsellor.

© Maryfield College, November 2006